The birds in the big old pohutakawa give company in the quiet.
The quiet of the lowest tide, framed by a thin bank of bone white shells
Pushed and raked by currents gone, revealing the cold grey mud.
Kingfisher halcyon, queen cormorant, tui bishop, oystercatcher and gull.
Going about their arcane games with note and cry.
Steady crop smoke from the far shore of the harbour signals the seasons end,
Mudstone strata of ochre and burnt orange show a different degree of timekeeping,
Settled and layered and born up from the soft reef,
To rudely display the muddy calendar of tides past.
Norfolk tree and rubble reef around the boat ramp,
Engine block moorings and rope wrapped tyres for the old buoys,
Clear yellow sunlight dropped in the barbecue cage.
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